Masada…..what a cool place; unless you
are talking temperature, then it was downright hot the day we visited this dry,
desert place. We drove downhill to
Masada from Jerusalem and then oddly enough had to take a cable car up to the
top of a mountain with really steep sides and a flat top, to be able to walk
through the area that housed the winter palace of Herod the Great.
Besides King Herod’s palace, there is a
storeroom complex for provisions for lengthy stays, an elaborate bath house,
living quarters for others, a courtyard and a synagogue for worship. I was particularly intrigued when I saw a
large, relatively modern door closing off one of the rooms to this otherwise
open area. When asked what it was, I learned
it was a room which housed scrolls for services which are still held there from
time to time.
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| What the palace would have looked like |
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Like the aqua duct he had built in
Caesarea Maritime, King Herod realized the need for water in this dry, arid
place, as well. He used the wadis (a
valley that remains dry except during rainy seasons) and an elaborate water
system, which provided the means for water to go into large cisterns on the side of the mountain, that
would hold enough water to sustain the inhabitants of the area for a long period of
time.
The views from the steep cliffs are
breathtaking.
It seems like you can see
on and on forever.
Due to the strategic
geographical setting, it was private and protected, yet elegant and inviting.
Still it was here battles were won and lost.
In
fact, in 73 BC the Jewish zealots, who were living at the top of Masada, at the
time, chose mass suicide instead of allowing the Romans to capture them.
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| A view all the way to the Dead Sea! |
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| Cave where Dead Sea scrolls were discovered |
Our next journey of the day took us to
Qumran located in the West Bank where, in the desert cliffs, the Dead Sea
Scrolls were discovered. Over 900
scrolls were found in these cliffs in 1947-1948. The first was located quite by accident
really. But what a wonderful
discovery! What a gift!
We also made our way to the Dead Sea
which borders Jordan, Israel and the West Bank.
Oh my goodness!
That was
incredible.
We were instructed on how to
correctly get in the water and that splashing or even swimming was not
recommended because the water is so salty.
Any of the moisture getting into your eyes or ears would likely cause
much discomfort!
As instructed we walked into the warm
water and found ourselves sinking in the dark, gooey, black mud. Once freed from the mire of mud and standing
a bit more solidly, we sat down onto the water and then laid back. At a saltiness of nearly ten times more than
other oceans, you really do just float!
Many of the visitors were busy covering
themselves in the sticky mud.
It is
suggested that this mud has an unusual abundance of healing minerals that will
soften and aid healing to myriad skin issues.
When considering the strategic
geographic protection given to King Herod on top of Masada and how he used the
Dead Sea as the world’s first health resort, it’s amazing to me that the Dead
Sea still provides a large variety of products for people all over the world.
The other remarkable reflection of the
day was the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
To think these scrolls were written on parchment and papyrus dating back
as early as 250 BC although most are from 50-100 AD. These are the oldest known copies of the
Hebrew Bible! That they were preserved
for us these thousands of years later seems mind boggling!
God has a way of giving us just what we
need from protection to healing minerals to copies of his Divine Word. It was a great day and the “icing on the cake,”
which blessed my heart, was the young people from our group who actually sang praises
on the beach! At some point someone
retrieved the guitar from bus and they blessed those who would listen, with their
beautiful harmonies. These young people were
a gift that brought sunshine to every day, another gift from the Father, who
knows just what we need!
Giddy with excitement is
the best way to describe my feelings as I waited my turn to enter the
tomb. I can not imagine how the women
and disciples must have felt when they entered the tomb and He was not
there. We know what happened because we
have His word to tell us. At the time,
they had to reflect on all His teachings and make that deduction and come to
that understanding. 
We know! He is not here,
For He is risen! This is powerful stuff;
life changing! Even as I write this I can feel my pulse race. What a gift of overwhelming joy, great peace,
redeeming grace, compelling purpose, enduring strength, and more; all because
of God’s
boundless and intense love of his human creation and Jesus’ willingness to be a
living, pure sacrifice on a cruel cross.
All God wants in return is acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah, and our
lives as a living sacrifice. These
thoughts were culminated in the sharing of communion before leaving Jerusalem.
